Building a 2023 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road, Part 3

In the previous episode of 4×4 garage, presented by RealTruck, we’ve covered the majority of the modifications done to turn a stock 2023 Toyota Tacoma into a mild-mannered, wilderness-flavored daily driver and weekend warrior with a few select parts from RealTruck’s website, as well as a few select vendors we’ve used. And trust. In this episode, Christian, Johnny and the rest of the gang at Wood’s Off-Road in San Marcos, California, put covers on the build and send car owner Ziad Ismail and his father Jeff home to pack for the weekend. And an exploration trip in the California Sierras via a route we researched and mapped out on our onX Offroad app.

Then we moved north across Lake Tahoe to Grass Valley, California, to visit IH Parts America’s secret, double-monitored R&D facility filled with IH vehicles and memorabilia from the 1920s to the final light. Production Line Days of 1980. We toured the grounds and checked out some of the vehicles of interest before learning about our next production line. 4×4 garage The project, a construction that Christian had been waiting to begin for several years. Stay tuned for future episodes, because this build and the F-350 we’ll be modifying to tow, should make a really cool pair!

Most modern cars come with a front-to-bottom rake for two reasons. First, it helps with aerodynamics, allowing the front to cut through air more easily and direct it around the underbody. Second, when the rear is fully loaded or when towing a trailer, the vehicle is placed level so that the headlights and nose are not pointed upwards into oncoming traffic. A quick and easy way to retain the factory spring rates and shock valving is to add a simple spacer lever that levels the front to match the height of the rear. The RetraxPro Complete We installed a new Superlift leveling kit that boosts the front ride height by 2.25 inches and helps make room for slightly larger tires.

We’ve mentioned before that we were fully aware that the leveling kit probably didn’t provide enough clearance for the full-size 33-inch LT285/75R16 Toyo Open Country R/T tires without having to cut the front body mount to get the clearance, but we had the tires and thought, ” Let’s try it.” We did our due diligence, opting for Raceline 935M Defender wheels with a 4-inch rear spacing which we thought might position the tires so they would be fully cleaned while rolling. Unfortunately, after driving the rig for a short time, it became clear that the tires were not going to fit without some chopping and trimming, which Zed was reluctant to do at this point in the vehicle’s life. So, we admitted defeat, removed Toyos for another project, and made a call to our guys at Tyreco.

We’ve been fans of the Milestar Patagonia X/T since we first saw a pre-production version of the all-around vehicle at the SEMA Show a few years ago. The Patagonia Asymmetric tread reduces highway noise, and many other features make this 40,000 mile tread warranty tire a great choice for the daily driver and weekend warrior like our Tacoma design. Milestar had the LT265/75R16 size in stock and ready to ship in time for our trip and video shoot. As an added bonus, the 3.91 gears liked the diameter a lot better, providing a noticeable increase in mileage and perceived power over the larger diameter 33s. Zaed eventually plans to retool the truck to 4.88s, so once that’s accomplished, increasing the tire size to 33s won’t have a drastic impact on drivability.

We planned to get together for a shakedown as soon as we finished with Tacoma. With Jeff and Zedd coming from Grass Valley and the rest of the gang from San Diego, Christian and the gang sped up OnX Offroad to find some scenic trails halfway between both places that would be challenging enough that the more capable vehicles in our area wouldn’t The kit feels quite bored, but is light enough that stock or slightly modified vehicles don’t weigh them down or risk damage to the body. We were able to quickly filter and survey several potential routes, eventually settling on the Mazourka Canyon area outside of Independence, California. We could see in the onX Offroad app that the level of terrain was exactly what we were looking for, the scenery was gorgeous, and there were plenty of natural and man-made points of interest to stop and check out, from rock formations to ancient mining infrastructure. We’ve charted our own path, with newer vehicles linking the app with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto while other vehicles follow the app and offline maps downloaded to our phones.

We all arrived at our campsite in Independence, and Zed had the best comfort ever on a 3-inch mattress inside his Rugged Ridge rooftop tent. The tent deploys very quickly and closing up in the morning before departure is quicker than you would expect, especially since you don’t have to drag your bedding; Simply fold it up and close it with a zipper.

Admittedly, although we love them, we long ago abandoned ice chests in favor of modern electric off-road coolers. We’ve used Dometic’s latest CFX3 12V Coolers on numerous projects, many of which withstand the rigors of our Ultimate Adventure event, and have come to trust and rely on them to keep our drinks and refreshments cold with low power consumption and great features like high-resolution color displays and control Monitor and monitor temperature via WiFi or Bluetooth, interior lights and more. Once you become an electrician, it’s hard to go back. For our Tacoma build, we chose a 35-liter Dometic CFX3 engine that fits neatly under a hard bed lid that’s securely mounted to the bed floor, or can be easily moved to other vehicles in the stable.

Another adventure-proven Dometic product is the 50-litre Dometic GO Hard Storage Box. The box can be stacked if you’re running more than one, and has secure latches and a durable high-impact polymer around a sturdy aluminum housing. We’ve used it to carry everything from cordless power tools and liquids we don’t want to spill to food and camp cooking supplies.

To finish off our Dometic order, we added the 11-quart Dometic GO Hydration Water Jug. Unlike bulky water jugs or single-use water bottles that can roll everywhere, Dometic Go Hydration holds 11 liters of drinkable water in a sturdy container that can be stored neatly almost anywhere, from behind the wheel to… Firmly mounted on the rack. The jug comes standard with a removable mesh carrying handle, a standard 63mm Nalgene opening that accepts filters and accessories, as well as a faucet and quick-connect fitting for easy connection to accessories. Dometic also offers an optional electric pump/faucet that allows you to place one or more jugs deep in your machine while still having quick access to water.

To get the most out of our Milestar tires, as well as increase off-road comfort, we lowered the tire pressure to about 15 psi during our day in the dirt. However, after we were done exploring the dirt, it was time to hit the road for about five hours of pavement driving, which meant the air returned to street pressure in the 32 psi range. The on-board Viair Dual 400 High Performance VMS air system got its stripes here, bringing all four of the Tacoma’s tires up to operating pressure before the carryover could do a single tire.

With most of us already halfway there, after the off-roading was done, we headed up to Grass Valley to Jeff Ismail’s IH Parts America R&D facility that houses the majority of his IH car collection and memorabilia. There are literally dozens and dozens of wonderful and rare IH vehicles of all types spanning the history of IH light line shows from the 1920s all the way back to one of the last passenger light line displays ever built. Jeff kindly gave us the guided tour and allowed us full access to the entire place. If you’re a fan of IH vehicles specifically, or just old iron in general, you’ll definitely want to watch the episode.

The main reason for our visit to the IH Parts America R&D site was for Christian to select the next project to build on 4×4 garage. We’ll take this killer 1956 S-120 pickup and turn it into a killer trail machine at Wood’s Offroad in San Marcos, California. We’ll also make some clever upgrades to Jeff’s F-350 truck to make it a more fun tow vehicle, and then we’ll use the Ford to tow the S-120 to the Rubicon Trail for its run. You won’t want to miss it!